


a room where the light won't find you

by quarterleigh



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, M/M, lucas is scared (but eliott is too)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 22:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17990051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quarterleigh/pseuds/quarterleigh
Summary: "Sometimes he stands so close to the top of the steps that men have to brush past him, and it sets his skin on fire. These men look at him like they know; like they can feel his desperate, pathetic curiosity. "Lucas stands outside of a gay bar, too scared to go inside. And then he meets someone.





	a room where the light won't find you

 There is a gay bar in the basement of this nightclub. Lucas is sure. He thinks he would be able to tell even if he didn’t know his old roommate used to bartend there. He’s spent countless Saturday nights at this club, watching the steady stream of increasingly intoxicated men coming up and down the stairs next to the restrooms. Sometimes he stands so close to the top of the steps that men have to brush past him, and it sets his skin on fire. These men look at him like they know; like they can feel his desperate, pathetic curiosity. Lucas imagines them laughing about him over drinks, between hookups. The miserable little gay boy who’s too afraid of his own feelings to have a good time.  The guy who comes to a nightclub every week just to stand in a corner and always leaves alone.

 

 “Going down?” A beautiful man says to him one night as he slips past.

 “No,” Lucas answers, voice hoarse, like he hasn’t spoken in days. He clears his throat. “No.”

 “Shame,” says the man, winking. Lucas must look as terrified as he feels because the man’s face drops. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just thought you might need a little encouragement.” He disappears down the stairs. Lucas waits a beat, and then he follows.

 

 It’s brighter than he was expecting. He had always pictured it as a dark, seedy basement with neon lights and the smell of sex in the air. Something like the nightclub it’s attached to. But it’s bright, and there’s a rock song playing over the speakers. Men are laughing together, playing pool, drinking beer. It’s just a bar.

 “You made it,” the man from earlier says, appearing from nowhere and grinning at him. Lucas can see his face clearly now, and he wishes he couldn’t. He can hardly breathe. “Let me get you something to drink.” Lucas nods. He needs it.

 

 They settle into the quietest corner of the room, cold beers dripping condensation onto the table. Lucas doesn’t know where to look. The man is only looking at him. “I’m Eliott,” he says.

 “Lucas.”

 “Lucas,” Eliott repeats. It sounds beautiful. “I’m glad you came down tonight.” Lucas meets his eyes.

 “You’ve seen me?”

 “Standing upstairs for hours at a time? Yeah,” Eliott shrugs. “I’ve always wondered about you.” Lucas feels sick. He should have known. No man like Eliott would feel anything but pity or morbid curiosity towards someone like Lucas. He sighs.

 “What do you want to know?” Eliott is silent for a moment and then-

 “What’s something you’re passionate about?”

 “What?” This isn’t what Lucas was expecting.

 “What do you think about when you’re falling asleep? What makes you excited? What makes you giddy?” Eliott is talking fast, words running together. Lucas gets the impression he genuinely wants to know the answer.

 “Uh, I don’t know. Not much, really.”

 “You’re not passionate about anything?”

 “I’m- I’m...” His mind is blank. “Well, what about _you_? What are your passions?”

 “Art,” Eliott‘s eyes twinkle. “Romance.” Lucas rolls his eyes.

 “That’s broad.”

 “It’s true,” Eliott says. Lucas believes him.

 “What kind of art, then?”

 “All sorts,” He says. “I draw a lot. I make short films. I like finding new music.”

 “Are you any good?” Lucas teases without thinking. Eliott smiles wider.

 “I’m fantastic.”

 “Prove it,” Lucas says. Eliott takes a swig of his beer, then pulls a pen from his pocket and starts to draw on a napkin. Lucas tries to peek over his shoulder and gets nudged back.

 “Hey, you’ll see it when I’m finished,” Eliott laughs. Lucas sits back and watches. He looks at Eliott’s furrowed eyebrows, his jawline. The crinkles around his eyes. A mark that looks like an acne scar on his temple. By the time he slides the napkin across the table, Lucas is halfway in love.

 Eliott looks nervous. The drawing is of Lucas. Sort of. It’s a hedgehog, but Lucas recognizes that it’s him, scared and longing at the top of a staircase.

 “Huh,” Lucas says.

 “Well? Aren’t I fantastic?” Eliott jokes.

 “This is…” He trails off, speechless.

 “Too much?” Eliott grimaces.

 “No, no,” Lucas reassures him. “It’s just so… am I really this transparent?” The hedgehog is wringing its hands, nervous. Eliott’s face goes soft.

 “I think maybe just to me,” he says.

 “How many times have you seen me?”

 “I’ve been coming here every Saturday night for three months.” Lucas sits back in chair, gobsmacked. How could he have missed this? He’s been shrinking at every look from every man that passes him, sure of the judgement and pity, and he’s somehow missed _this_ man, staring straight through his soul and out the other side. “Am I making you uncomfortable again?” Eliott asks.

 “No,” Lucas says, truthfully. He worries at his bottom lip, unsure of what to say.

 “Can I tell you why I came here the first time?” Lucas nods. “I was afraid. I had just broken up with my girlfriend, who I’d been with for years. I wanted to be with a man, but the only other time I tried it went… badly. So I came here, because this is supposed to be a safe place. I thought if I could just be around men like myself, for once, then maybe I wouldn’t have to wonder. But then I saw you. And all I’ve done since is wonder.” Eliott’s voice is steady but nervous, and Lucas wants to hold him.

 “I love music,” he says. Eliott blinks. “I play the piano. I’m passionate about it. Sometimes I make up melodies as I’m falling asleep. I’m saving money to buy a keyboard, because I haven’t had a piano since I lived with my parents. No one except my mom has ever heard me play. My best friend doesn’t even know. He doesn’t know a lot about me.”

 “I have a piano,” Eliott says. Lucas feels warm. He leans into Eliott’s side, where it’s even warmer.

 

 The next morning, Eliott awakes to piano music.

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing for Skam! I loved the OG and never thought a remake could compare but these two have stolen my heart.  
> (You can find this fic on tumblr [here](https://happyeliott.tumblr.com/post/183199878987/a-room-where-the-light-wont-find-you))


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